Skywalkers Rise
by lateVMlover
Summary: This is a one-shot that focuses exclusively on Rey and Kylo/Ben in the movie Rise of Skywalker. It gives insight into their thoughts as they fight each other in various locations, and it reworks the ending. Contains spoilers for the latest Star Wars movie Rise of Skywalker. Rey/Ben pairing.


**This is a one-shot as I watched ****_Rise of Skywalker _****and had to write/rework the ending. If you are planning to watch it, warning this contains major spoilers for the movie, especially the end. I have never written a ****_Star Wars _****story even though I am a major fan. Nor have I ever read any fanfiction for it that wasn't a ****_BTVS _****crossover. This story is purely SW. I have been mostly disheartened by the new movies since Lucas sold the rights to Disney. Starting with Timothy Zahn's first book, I have read like a hundred of the SW books. Not until ****_Rise of Skywalker _****have ****_any_**** of the movies come close to the books. I absolutely loved it and cannot wait to watch it again. As I've only watched it once, forgive me if I get a detail wrong. All dialogue is more paraphrasing from my memory rather than exact dialogue, so please don't waste your energy commenting on that fact.**

**This will mostly cover what I imagined the characters were thinking when they first fought on a moon of Endor or wherever they were up to the showdown on the Sith planet. If you don't want it to be spoiled, STOP READING now. I am redoing the ending the way the story would've ended if Kylo hadn't have murdered his father and massacred untold numbers. Or rather this is the ending, any true romantic would've wanted…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own SW as Lucas sold it to Kathleen Kennedy, CEO of Disney, or this story as it's mostly the creation of the great J. J. Abrams. **

**I will be switching from Kylo/Ben's P.O.V. to Rey's. Btw, it was never really clear to me if in the first Abrams movie if Han and Leia ever got married.**

The Skywalkers Rise

Kylo worked hard to contain his anger as Rey once again chose to run off with her resistance friends. His link to her seemed to be growing each time they connected. Until he saw Palpatine, he wasn't sure exactly why they were so connected. He had just known she was important to him—vital even. Now, though, he knew who she was related to, and it was clear. They were meant be together. He had lost everyone else in his life because they didn't understand him. His mother loved him, but she had wanted to limit him. His uncle had wanted to control him, and his father—he couldn't think of his father.

He had to sever his tie to his father because his father was weak—he had no force ability. It was only Chewie and dumb luck that kept him alive so long. Kylo pushed away the memories. The Dark Side allowed for no feelings of love—only possession.

That was what he felt with Rey—she belonged with him. Together, they would rule the galaxy.

When he got the call that she was at Kijimi, he didn't hesitate to follow up. This was too important to leave to an underling—she was too important.

*****_Rey*****_

She left Finn and Poe's side because she sensed something pulling at her. They didn't need her to rescue Chewie as she had faith they could do it without her. It shouldn't have surprised her that she ended up in Kylo's quarters. Somehow, she knew it was his space. The charred helmet of Darth Vader stood on a pedestal. Master Luke Skywalker had shared how he'd succeeded in saving his father but failed to save his own nephew, who had been his last apprentice. The failure and pain of that had pushed him into his isolation. His self-loathing had destroyed so much, but in the end, Master Luke had found his way back to the fight.

When she reached her hand out and touched the helmet, she saw Kylo's face. He looked as surprised as she felt.

"Rey. Where are you? Tell me where you are," he compelled.

Why did she want to answer him? What was it that drew her to him? Was it him or the Dark Side in him?

She'd had a dream—a nightmare of herself as a dark empress by his side. Just seeing him filled her with fear, and that fear made her angry.

After an exchange of words, she pulled out her lightsaber. His voice pulled at her. He wasn't on the ship, so why did she see him so clearly?

It didn't matter—she attacked. Unlike the last time on Pasaana when she'd brought down his ship with her blade, she wouldn't lose control. Thinking she'd accidentally killed Chewie filled her with more anger. That was his fault. All of what she was feeling, her confusion and conflict was because of Kylo, the so-called Supreme Leader of the First Order. He killed Leia's husband. He destroyed Luke in ways that no one could ever heal, and now he was dead, too. Kylo was the one who needed to die, and then the galaxy would be free of his reign of terror.

There was no Jedi, though, to oppose him. There was only her.

She kept swinging her blade, matching him blow for blow. Their fight destroyed his monument to Vader—if only she could so easily knock him down.

*****_Kylo*****_

She was determined to resist him and fought him with an almost cold precision.

"Where are you?" he asked, willing her to respond.

She remained silent and swung her lightsaber—his uncle's lightsaber. It angered him to see it in her hand. Then he saw her even clearer and knew where she was.

She was in his quarters. A stab of warmth filled him as he realized that fact. She _had _come to him.

Their connection broke, and he gave the order. "Lock down the ship. She's there!"

*****_Rey*****_

Rey knew that if she got over the water and to the broken-down parts of the old Death Star, she'd find the key Master Luke had been searching for. The Wayfinder that would take her to where Palpatine was.

Of course, _he _would show up. Kylo seemed to be her constant shadow—one she could not shake.

The memory of her vision of herself filled with hate and the Dark Side spiked her fear, and she attacked him. This would end. She would kill him, and his lure would be gone.

She fought him relentlessly even when the crash of the water clouded her view. When Finn—dear Finn—tried to come to her aid, she didn't pause. Instead, she used the Force to flick him away. He couldn't interfere. Nothing would stop her from destroying Kylo.

Then he told her.

"You are Palpatine's daughter. Your parents tried to protect you from him, and they never gave you up to him," Kylo revealed. "We are a nexus in the Force. Together, we can kill him and rule the galaxy."

Kylo was determined to reach her because he didn't want to be so alone. He'd lost everything and what was power if he had no one to share it with? His father had always had Chewie or his uncle to watch his back. Luke had Leia and then his father. The Sith masters never trusted anyone to watch their back, but Kylo thought that was a mistake. It was why they were inevitably destroyed. Loyalty could be a part of his legacy.

He held out his hand. "Come with me, Rey. Take my hand. I will take you to Palpatine, and together we will defeat him," he said.

Rey couldn't believe his words. She couldn't possibly be related to the man who'd terrorized the galaxy for so many years. He'd seduced Anakin Skywalker, a good man, to the Dark Side and then sent him to slaughter all the Jedi. Not even Force wielding children had been shielded from Vader's red blade.

The same red that Kylo used on his blade. He wanted to be just like that grandfather he so revered, and he wanted her to be just like him. She would never do it—she refused to.

Rey once again attacked him, not stopping.

Kylo pushed down his disappointment when his words didn't sway her. Instead, she attacked. This time, though, she seemed more determined than ever to defeat him. He didn't want to hurt her—not really. However, he also couldn't allow her to win.

Then he felt another presence. A presence he hadn't let himself miss, not in years.

"Ben," his mother's voice called to him. She was so close that he could feel her.

For just a split second, he hesitated in his fight, and Rey saw it. Her lightsaber pierced his chest—it went through, bringing a sharp wave of agony with it.

She had won. Then he felt his mother's light go out.

His mother was dead—the pain of that pushed away all his anger, eclipsed the agony of Rey's blade. He didn't want to fight Rey anymore.

He had lost—everything.

His mother was dead, and Rey had killed him. He could feel the vitality leave his body as his will to live followed it.

When his legs gave out, she didn't go in for the quick kill like the Sith are taught. Instead, she looked at him with regret.

The bond between them was still there.

How could that be?

Rey didn't understand. Who was he to her? Her enemy?

Some part of her felt that he might have been her other half. Watching his light begin to fade didn't fill her with relief. Instead, it filled her with a growing sense of loss.

She had to stop this.

Rey moved closer and reached out with her hand. She placed it on the hole her lightsaber had left in his gut. Then she closed her eyes and drew on the life-giving power of the Force. His wound began to close, and his eyes opened, looking at her in surprise.

Rey held his gaze a long moment as the link between them reformed. Her hand reached for his as she recalled his words once before.

_You wanted to take my hand. I felt it._

"You were right," she told him. "That day. I did want to take your hand. If you were Ben Solo, I would have."

Then she got up and walked away.

Kylo watched her until she faded from sight, and then he slowly got to his feet. Turmoil consumed him. She had saved his life. He felt all his anger—the anger he'd been holding onto for so long—leave him.

He stood looking at the waves. What did he have now?

The Dark Side seemed so empty.

_He_ was empty.

A memory of his father stood in front of him. It was so real that he even spoke to the figure.

His father had loved him. Even when he'd stabbed in with the same blow that Rey had given him, Han Solo had only had love in his eyes for him.

Rey had healed him—she hadn't let him die.

He had let his father die; he'd murdered his father.

He was a monster.

Han still reached out to him. "Be Ben Solo. Let Kylo go," his father urged. His hand on his face felt real and familiar. Forgiveness and love were all he saw in his father's eyes.

Who he once was began to grow in his mind—Ben Solo was no longer just a distant memory.

"I know what I need to do, but I don't know if I am strong enough to do it," he said, echoing again the last words he'd said to Han before he'd pierced him with his red blade. This time, though, he needed strength to do something very different.

His father's eyes were filled with compassion and understanding. Then Han's image was gone, and he faced the waves alone.

He had to make a choice. Rey would never choose Kylo even if she couldn't let Kylo die.

But she would choose Ben—maybe.

Did he want her more than he wanted the Dark Side of the Force?

Suddenly, the choice was so obvious, and he threw his red blade into the ocean.

*****_Exegol_—_Sith Base****_

Ben Solo walked out of the ship; a sense of urgency filled him. He had to get to Rey, so he could help her defeat Palpatine.

Armed with just a blaster, he went inside the stone stronghold of the Sith. Almost immediately, he was surrounded by several Sith. He longed for a lightsaber blade, but he didn't hesitate to fight the Knights of Ren.

Not too far away, Rey was having her own mental battle with her grandfather. He wanted her to kill him. There was an audience of countless Sith watching from the stands. If she gave him to her hatred and anger, she would not just kill him, but she would _become _him. Luke's Force ghost had armed her with both his and Leia's lightsaber and encouraged her to face her grandfather. It was up to her to end this war, but she didn't want to turn into a monster like Palpatine. She wanted to be good like her father, who had never turned dark. Instead, he had loved and protected her. Her mother, too, had willingly given her life to keep Rey safe from this monster.

They hadn't abandoned her.

What should she do?

When she stood motionless in her indecision, he decided to push her into attacking by taunting her.

"Your pathetic resistant friends are doomed. Everyone you know and care about will die unless you strike me down. You lead the First Order—only you can stop the slaughter," he told her. "I will live forever through you, my blood." He even opened the roof of the building, so she could look up and see her friends in the sky utterly outgunned and outnumbered.

However, he didn't know that she wasn't alone. _He _was there—nearby. She could sense Kylo's presence and fought back a smile of relief. His presence was no longer tainted with darkness, though, so she hoped it would be Ben that would fight with her.

Her grandfather smiled when she reached for Luke's lightsaber, thinking she was going to attack. Instead, the nexus that connected her to Ben opened up, and without looking she handed off the lightsaber.

Palpatine was confused until Ben Solo stood before him, his Force energy no longer poisoned with darkness. Kylo's Dark Side presence was gone, replaced by only the Light Side of the Force. It engulfed Rey's, and they were joined in a link that any Force wielder could easily see. Ben's eyes met Rey's, and they smiled.

Neither was alone anymore. Rey no longer had to hold herself back as all trappings of Kylo, the Supreme Leader of the First Order were gone. Dressed in black still but without his Kylo robes or red lightsaber, he was Ben Skywalker-Solo, son of Leia Organa-Skywalker and Han Solo.

The shock was apparent on the former emperor's face. "And the two become one. Well, it won't save you. I will take the life force of the last of the Skywalkers and my thankless granddaughter," he said. Then he reached out with all his dark power and began draining them.

Rey tried to reach Ben, who flung his arm toward her, but she couldn't touch him. They both felt the energy leave them, making them helpless in Palpatine's grip.

His flesh began growing on his body, and Palpatine laughed with evil glee. "I will live forever as I take what is yours!" he declared. "The line of Skywalker is finally dead."

He flicked his hand and threw a nearly dead Ben Solo over the cliff.

Ben Solo, however, felt his descent slow as a familiar presence surrounded him. It was his mother, and then he felt his uncle. They began to aid his recovery while above Rey lay motionless in front of her grandfather, her life nearly gone. An urgency to aid her filled him—he had to save her.

Ben could hear the voices of their ancestors murmuring to Rey as his family in the force worked to restore him.

"It's okay, Ben. We are here for you—always," his Uncle Luke said.

"I love you, Ben," his mother said as he slowly rose back up, filled anew with the power of the Force.

He glanced behind him and saw their ghostly images. After returning their smiles, he looked and saw that Rey was back on her feet, having been empowered by all Jedi who had come before her, fighting valiantly against her grandfather's force lightening.

If she defeated him alone, it would kill her. Ben moved quickly, calling his uncle's lightsaber to his hand. Then he was there next to Rey, holding up his blade against the force of Palpatine's lightening.

Rey and Ben's force powers joined as the invisible bridge between them was reformed. Ben wasn't about to let the Darkside take his only remaining family—Rey was his.

She was all that he had left.

Determined, he pushed forward, and they overwhelmed Palpatine. Moving as one, Ben and Rey swung their lightsabers, cutting him in three at his stomach and chest.

His lightening dispensed into the ground, and the ground began to shake.

Ben reached for Rey's hand. "Come on," he said. "We have to get out of here."

All around them, structures began to crumble as the Knights of Ren all began to fall under the onslaught of rubble. The evil energy of Palpatine left, taking the vitality of the Sith with him.

Nimble as a cat, Rey jumped over bricks, keeping Ben's hand tightly in hers while her lightsaber deflected more than one piece of broken stone.

Soon, they stood at their ships and watched the place sink into a large cavern.

His hand released hers, and he turned to face her. Rey looked up at him, unable to really believe that he was there with her, alive and free of all darkness.

Ben's hand reached up to cradle her cheek. "Hello," he said. "I don't think we've formally met. My name is Ben. Ben Solo."

Rey felt all the weight she'd been carrying for so long leave her as she gazed up into his eyes. All of who he was there for him to see, and she knew that he could see inside her as well.

"I'm Rey," she said.

She wanted to give him who she really was, but who was that?

Rey Palpatine?

No. She would never use her father's surname—he wouldn't want that.

Looking behind Ben, she saw the ghostly outlines of Leia and Luke smiling at the two of them.

They had passed on all their knowledge of the Force to her. They had given her a purpose, a strong identity. Somehow, she knew that they would be honored to claim her as theirs.

"I'm Rey Skywalker," she told him, smiling brightly.

"It's wonderful to know you, Rey Skywalker," Ben said. Then he bent his head to kiss her.

He was home.

*****_The End*****_

_I am aware that the movie did NOT use the word nexus to describe Rey/Ben's link. It sounded like the word diatribe or something, but I couldn't figure out the word with the one viewing of it. _

_I believe that Kylo/Ben did have to die like Vader had to. There are some things you can't really come back from, but I wanted to picture the ending going another way. One where Ben was made whole. One where HE was empowered by his mother and Luke. Why would the Jedi only help Rey? It didn't really make sense, so I hope you enjoyed this._

_If you want to read a great Star Wars books that shows Luke Skywalker finally becoming one with Mara Jada, it's called __Balance Point__ by Kathy Tyers. That was the union I pictured for Ben and Rey even though Ben and Ray's was a bit stronger due to be able to transfer things to one another._

_Review if you enjoyed this one-shot. If you haven't watched the movie yet, you will probably like this version better! Thanks for reading._


End file.
